Republic – Page 41 – Slugger O'Toole

“As mayor of Donegal I’m erecting a monument to four people who perished needlessly, senselessly”

Mick Fealty on August 27, 2009, 5:17 pm

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According to the BBC, there’s a row brewing over plans to erect a monument to those who died in a bomb which killed Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, in Mullaghmore, Co Sligo. The Mayor of Donegal, Fianna Fail man explains the thinking behind such a memorial… Thirty years have passed and this country has undergone a massive transformation for the better. It is now time to move forward,” the mayor said. “I feel that it is now time …

O’Donoghue must clarify travel expense or resign…

Mick Fealty on August 27, 2009, 4:08 pm

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So says Fine Gael Senator Pascal Donohoe… Well, he would, wouldn’t he… In fact, it’s a matter of public debate and possibly further investigation what his expenses add up to… My hunch is the government is unwilling to get into such a toxic debate when it’s already got Nama and the Tax Commissioners report on the front burner… Gavin, who helped reignite the story in the papers (and got 1 credit for it) notes the spin from government on the …

One year on, and the Republic’s tax take is heading for half it’s expenditure…

Mick Fealty on August 27, 2009, 12:52 pm

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Here’s one reason why 46 leading economists are so freaked by the Government’s proposed NAMA legislation: “Nama has unfolded against the slow but steady deterioration in the State’s finances. We now look to be on course for a Government deficit of close to €30 billion. In short, this means that for every €1 the State spends, it takes in tax only 50 cent. To close this gap in State expenditure would require the implementation of more then five times the …

We need more special advisors, not less…

Mick Fealty on August 26, 2009, 8:29 pm

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Talk to any political Special Advisor in any administration on these islands and they will speak endlessly of their frustration with getting senior civil servants to anything the Minister wants them to do… Even the best of them struggle with the institutional inertia… And the sheer bloody mindedness of it… Danny Finklestein argues there should be more of them with greater seniority and with a deal more clout: Cabinet government is not about holding longer or more frequent Cabinet meetings. …

Methinks the lady doth protest too much…

Mick Fealty on August 26, 2009, 3:50 am

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Somehow you can’t help think that Declan is missing the heady days of the Tiger, badly… Prós corcra, and then some… Con gives it more attention (ag a bhlag iGaeilge) than I suspect it deserves…. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

“You couldn’t make it up.”

Pete Baker on August 25, 2009, 6:11 pm

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Looks like [Irish] chicken could be back on the menu.. or, perhaps, [British] turkey.. The deal may not be signed yet, but with a Northern Ireland company, McCann’s of Omagh, reported to have “submitted an estimate for the job at about €40,000 lower than any tenderer in the Republic”, the Mayor of Ballyshannon, Fine Gael Cllr. Eugene Dolan, is already criticising the Irish Department of Defence for planning “to go across the Border and sign up a Northern Ireland construction …

Lance’s Dublin group cycle ride

Pete Baker on August 25, 2009, 2:58 pm

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In Dublin today? As I may have mentioned.. 7 time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong is organising an impromptu group cycle ride Good morning Dublin. Who wants to ride this afternoon? I do. 5:30 pm @ the roundabout of Fountain Rd and Chesterfield Ave. See you there.. And as he also says Need a bike for our 5:30 ride? www.phoenixparkbikehire.com Update Heh. I’ve decided it’s too nice and sunny (perfect) to ride. I think I’ll just sit around. Kidding!! …

Broadmeadow collapse: “However good we may be at building things, we are woeful at maintaining them”

Mick Fealty on August 25, 2009, 11:28 am

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As Pete noted in detail here, Irish Rail’s estimate of three months plus for getting the Broadmeadow viaduct back up is a gross underestimation verging on a crass PR ploy to mollify irate commuters. Today’s Irish Times editorial takes if further and notes the implications or the rest of the Irish railway network: Given that all of the remaining 10 piers standing in Broadmeadow estuary are subject to the same tidal scouring as the one that crumbled on Friday last, …

“If the whole viaduct is going to have to be rebuilt, it could be massive undertaking”

Pete Baker on August 24, 2009, 11:38 pm

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While Iarnród Éireann are still predicting it will be “at least three months” before the line across the Broadmeadow viaduct near Malahide reopens, following its collapse on Friday, Translink are already talking of the line closure lasting “6 months or more”. That seabed erosion, possibly in recent weeks, is being suggested as the cause of the collapse, might point to a problem with the location itself. As the Irish Times Environment Editor, Frank McDonald, details, the viaduct has been rebuilt …

“Lisbon is a dead duck, a goner, not a hope in hell”…

Mick Fealty on August 24, 2009, 11:59 am

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This one comes courtesy of reader Paddy Matthews in the comment zone here. Deaglán de Breadun with the bad/good news from inside Leinster House: I was told by a highly-experienced (and pro-EU) Fianna Fáil backbencher the farmers are voting against en bloc and don’t pay any attention to what their leaders are saying. (I should point out that the executive council of the Irish Farmers’ Association has voted unanimously to recommend a Yes to Lisbon.) But surely the possibility of …

“nothing short of a miracle that the collapse did not result in a serious accident..”

Pete Baker on August 23, 2009, 4:55 pm

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As the BBC report states, Iarnród Éireann are predicting that “the line across the estuary [at Malahide] will not reopen for at least three months” following the collapse of the viaduct on Friday. Meanwhile, the Sunday Times reports that the viaduct “was inspected by a structural engineer three days earlier [Tuesday] after fears that it might have been damaged during the ‘high-rainfall summer’”. While all railway bridges receive a full structural survey every two years, the viaduct over the estuary …

“Perhaps, therein also lays the reason why our opponents seek to demonize us..”

Pete Baker on August 22, 2009, 7:35 pm

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The Irish Central website makes room for an interesting right of reply from Breandán Mac Cionnaith, general secretary of éirígí, in response to a previous article by Niall O’Dowd. In the response, Breandán Mac Cionnaith confirms the party’s intention to contest future elections and he states Let me make clear, in terms which I and other senior members of éirígí have been publicly consistent and unequivocal – éirígí is not aligned to or supportive of any armed groups, Irish or …

The O’Donoghue Files: and the press follows on…

Mick Fealty on August 22, 2009, 2:38 pm

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This is the front page of the Irish Daily Mail yesterday. It’s looks to be a good story (though personally I would like to see more homework on the value of the expenses than to be ‘shocked’ by big figure headlines). Its the travelling expenses of the Dail’s Ceann Comhairle (when he was the Culture and Sport Minister) John O’Donoghue. But you may have read about the story on Gavin’s blog a couple of days ago. The same story appears …

Railway viaduct collapse disrupts Dublin-Belfast Enterprise service

Pete Baker on August 22, 2009, 2:35 am

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The collapse of the viaduct carrying the railway line across the estuary at Mallahide, Dublin, looks likely to disrupt the Belfast-Dublin service for “a significant period of time.” But it could have been worse.. [updated quote] Iarnród Éireann has said the collapse had the potential to be a serious tragedy. A 20 metre section of viaduct on the Broadmeadow estuary, between Malahide and Donabate gave way at around 6.20pm. The damaged line was noticed by the driver of the 6.07pm …

“I’ll just be glad to get out of here”

Pete Baker on August 22, 2009, 2:18 am

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An RTÉ report reminds me that Maze escapee Pól Brennan, who was arrested in Texas in January 2008, is due to be deported from the US today, and if this Texan report is accurate he’s probably already en route to Ireland. What happens next is unclear.. Update According to the Belfast Telegraph report, Brennan is now at “an undisclosed location in the west of Ireland.” Adds BBC report. Pete Baker

Tour of Ireland 2009

Pete Baker on August 22, 2009, 12:05 am

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The big draw of cycling’s Tour of Ireland this year is undoubtedly the 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, as the BBC report notes. But amongst the team lists competing in Ireland’s 3-day tour, shortened due to the “very tough economic climate”, are a number of recognisable names. Australian veteran Stuart O’Grady for example, and the Isle of Man’s Mark Cavendish who won 6 stages in this year’s Tour de France including an impressive final stage victory on the …

“That at the very least is an abuse of process”

Pete Baker on August 21, 2009, 7:56 pm

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Despite the previous High Court ruling, and the rejection of an appeal at the Supreme Court, today the Irish High Court allowed 7 companies in the Liam Carroll controlled Zoe Group, which owe €1.2 billion, to proceed with their second application for court protection. From the RTÉ report, “Mr Justice John Cooke deferred setting a date for the hearing and formally issuing his detailed reasons until Monday morning.” The assessment of Lyndon McCann, SC for ACC Bank, is worth considering. …

Big private sector interests move into the Lisbon debate…

Mick Fealty on August 21, 2009, 1:44 pm

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Cian notes the entry of the multinationals, particularly in the person of Jim O’Hara Chief Executive of Intel in Ireland, who’s been on Morning Ireland this morning making a strong case for Ireland signing up to the Lisbon Treaty. Quid Pro Quo says Cian, given the general assumption that Libertas stood for an undisclosed set of private interests (leaving Fianna Fail out of it, for the moment). It’s also worth mentioning the powerful effect of an extremely wealthy external Eurosceptic …

“The same arrangement would also operate in reverse..”

Pete Baker on August 21, 2009, 1:55 am

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At the Cedar Lounge Revolution, WorldbyStorm spotted this suggestion in a recent report of the Fianna Fáil Senate reform proposals. The Fianna Fáil submission says consideration should also be given to a reciprocal arrangement with the Northern Ireland Assembly, “whereby the Assembly and Seanad Éireann would exchange a right of audience for up to 10 members of each at sittings of each body”. Mr Cassidy said it was envisaged that, on one or two occasions each year, members of the …

“Snip’ and Nama institutionalise the mindset of property bubble”…

Mick Fealty on August 21, 2009, 12:30 am

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This is kind of where I was heading with the ’empty suits’ thing yesterday. Michael O’Sullivan has an interesting ‘big idea’. First, his evidence for the prosecution: This anger should be directed at the political and policy making classes, together with some bankers and business people, because programmes like the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) and the “An Bord Snip Nua” initiative are the direct result of the many errors committed in growing, overseeing and, more recently, rescuing our banking …